The huge decarbonisation project will preserve 5,000 steelmaking jobs on site and cut emissions by 90% – equivalent to 1.5% of the UK’s total direct CO2 output.

Under the construction management contract Sir Robert McAlpine’s project team will total around 60 staff on site with over 400 contractors working for specialist firms on the overall project.

Its strong regional supply chain includes Darlow Lloyd & Sons, Mii, Skelton Thomas, Wernick Buildings, Andrew Scott and Systems Group.

Work includes demolition of existing buildings and structures, partial infill of the BOS lagoon, and construction of the electric arc furnace and two new ladle furnaces.

The job also features upgraded slag processing, material handling systems, electrical control rooms, pipework and cabling, and new roads, landscaping and drainage.

The EAF will use scrap steel instead of imported coal and iron ore – tapping into the 10m tonnes of scrap generated annually in the UK.

Design of the EAF at the heart of the new plant

Around 70,000 tonnes of scrap will arrive at Port Talbot every week once the plant is operational.

Steel will be tapped from the furnace at a rate of 320 tonnes every 42 minutes, creating annual capacity of around 3.2 million tonnes.

Molten metal will be transferred into one of two new ladle furnaces where the
chemistry of the steel will be refined to obtain the desired grade.

The electric arc furnace is due to switch on at the end of 2027 as part of the push towards greener production.